What can medicine admissions learn from Google?

In a New York Times column, Thomas Friedman recent wrote about what Google values and seeks in its new employees. Striking to me was the fact that overall intelligence ranks lower on their values totem pole than several traditionally more important attributes.

So, what can medicine learn from Google and how can we apply it to our admissions process? Here are five key points from the article, adapted to our admissions process:

1. Cognitive ability. GPA and MCAT scores are likely poor measures. Cognitive ability has very little to do with IQ and everything to do with how able one is to “learn on the fly.” Can you evaluate a situation, process the important details and make a logical decision about how to proceed?

2. Leadership skills. Stop searching for standard CV fillers like “president of the pre-med society.” Half of being a good leader is knowing when someone else may be better equipped to take the wheel. Seek out those who can identify situations and formulate ways to lead, but who also recognize when it may be more appropriate to hand over the reins.

3. Humility and ownership. Does your applicant have a backbone and an open mind? Own your positions and ideas to the point that you can fiercely defend them, but at the same time, have the humility to truly hear and accept others’ points. Most importantly, have the open mind and humility needed to accept a better idea and alter your own.

4. Intellectual humility. Does this person own their failures? Intellectual humility is recognizing your own mistakes and failures and learning from them. This is the opposite of blaming others or the universe at large when something goes wrong. You need a big ego and a small ego in the same person, at the same time.

5. Expertise. Scores and grades can still count, just not as much. The argument is that someone who possesses the four other characteristics can have little or no expertise, but will be equipped to get there. Once you have those other characteristics, you are teachable; and we are nothing if not teachable.

One push in the recent past has been to incorporate more behavioral interviews into the medical school admissions process, which they discuss in this article as being a big part of the Google hiring process. It’s logistically difficult, sure, but the benefits to patients and medicine in general, is undeniable.

What can medicine admissions learn from Google? 5 comments

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DeceasedMD

What can Md’s learn from Google? Absolutely nothing. Perhaps they should learn from us for a change.

DeceasedMD

We are in an age where technology, especially the internet and google are overly idealized. They have become such powers that everyone thinks they can learn from them. Of course by doing that, they are devaluing medicine itself. How did medicine get along before google? before EMR’s? before insurance and government intrusions?

We are in a age of reductionism in thinking. We are in an age of trusting Computer Dr. Watson over physicians. We want simple answers rather than complex thoughtful answers, hence the overuse of technology everywhere. It is a dangerous idea that silicon valley has all the answers to life. but that seems to be where we are headed. We have welcomed Big Brother.

DeceasedMD

What can MD’s learn from Google? Absolutely nothing. Perhaps they should learn from us for a change.

buzzkillerjsmith

IQ is highly correlated with ability to “learn on the fly.” The ability to learn quickly and well is an important component of intelligence and IQ.

I’m not sure if IQ correlated with GPA and MCAT scores, but it does correlate with with SAT scores. In addition, it has a positive correlation with socioeconomic success and with income. It has a negative correlation with religiosity.

I doubt that high IQ is either necessary or sufficient for happiness.

It might turn out that smarter folks will have a harder time in medicine going forward as idiotic constraints and the need for chronic routine care increase.

understandnatives

Incorporate more behavioral interviews? Injecting subjectivity into an already-severely-biased decision process is always a bad idea.